Judge orders runoff in Democratic race for Seventh District

An Horry County judge has ruled there should be a runoff between two Democrats running for a new seat in Congress. But, that leaves very little time for campaigning.

The lawsuit was filed by supporters of Democratic candidate Preston Brittain after the Election Commission ruled his opponent Gloria Tinubu won the nominaion for the new Seventh Congressional District. Tinubu was originally declared the winner after the South Carolian Election Commission ruled she received 50 percent of the vote– which is necessary to avoid a runoff election.

However, that was only because the commission tossed out over 2,300 votes for a third candidate Ted Vick– who had withdrawn from the race after his DUI arrest. Brittain received 37 percent of the vote.

State Circuit Judge Larry Hyman ruled Vick’s votes should still count because his name appeared on the ballot– even though that was only because the ballots were already sent out when Vick ended his run.

The judge’s ruling means Tinubu only took 49 percent of the votes cast– triggering a runoff with Brittain. The runoff is scheduled for Tuesday, only four days after Hyman’s ruling. That likely means both candidates and election officials will be scrambling this weekend with some last-minute campaigning and work.